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“What the fuck are you talking about, Al? King Vandros was here? Are you okay?” he asked, his hand going to the dagger on his belt. He looked around the room like he expected the King to step out from behind the curtains.
“I’m…okay. He’s gone now. But he wasn’t here. His body wasn’t, I mean. But he was here talking to me,” I said.
I went to take another sip of my scotch, and Rhett grabbed my hand.
“Al, you’re not making any sense. Slow down on the scotch and tell me what happened,” he begged.
“He was on my balcony, waiting for me. He had the same eyes as the man who tried to kidnap me earlier this year, Rhett. It was the craziest thing. But it was a completely different man. Obviously, it was a different man, because Nik cut the other man’s head off. And he said he was coming back for me, and he would be in his own body when he did.”
“And then what happened?” he asked.
“He just left.”
“He shouldn’t be able to travel in or out of here,” Rhett said, getting angry.
“I don’t think he did, Rhett. It was the damnedest thing. He just walked right out of my door.”
Rhett let me take another sip of my drink now. He went behind the bar and poured himself a glass, and then, for good measure, refilled mine.
* * * *
“Come on, princess, you’re coming home with me.”
It was hours later. I was still sitting in Rhett’s parlor in my nightgown. I’d quit chugging scotch at some point. Someone had brought food and lain it in front of me. It was still there, untouched. I knew I was in shock. The King of Alancia had tried to kidnap me. He was going to try again. Because he wanted me to be his queen? Nothing made sense to me.
I looked up at Nik. He was in his full Prince of Darkness mode. His thick brows were furrowed in anger, his dark eyes brimmed with fury, and, of course, he was surrounded by shadows of darkness despite the fact that it was just approaching dusk and some light still remained in the sky.
“What are you talking about, Nik?” I managed to say in my stupor.
“You are coming to live with me at the M, where I can keep you safe,” he said through gritted teeth, his nostrils flared. “Clearly, it is not safe here.”
Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong about that. Since I’d been at the High Court, I’d been attacked by Cole and Stefan and, apparently, King Vandros,twice. But that didn’t mean I was going to move my entire life and run away. I knew how obstinate Nik could be, however.
“No. I’m not, Nik.” I sighed.
“He shouldn’t have been able to get to you here. We made sure of it,” he said, ignoring my comment entirely and plopping down right next to me on the lounge.
“You smell like scotch, by the way,” he noted.
“If you don’t like it, then don’t sit so close to me,” I snipped. I looked for my scotch glass. Maybe I should have some more.
“Wait, what are you talking about? He…he said that I was more protected than I know. How have I been being protected?” I asked.
“People. Shields. I am the only one who is permitted to travel in and out of House Rein,” Nik explained.
So everyone knew I was at risk except for me? I guess they had tried to tell me. I just didn’t believe them. Because I didn’t think I had any magic.
“He didn’t get in by any magical ability, I don’t think, Nik. He walked right out my door. That’s probably how he got in, too,” I noted.
“I know. The description of the man you provided… He has been working as a messenger at the High Court for months. So his presence did not raise any of the defenses,” he said, starting to sound angry again.
I imagined it was pretty difficult to defend against a man who could apparently look like anyone at any point and time. The only thing that might possibly give him away was his eyes, which were unique. I mentioned this to Nik. Nik looked like he wasn’t listening.
“You feel…different today,” he said, and to my surprise, he ran his thumb softly along my jawline. “Your magic feels different,” he said vaguely, letting his hand drop away.
My magic that I showed no real signs of had a feel, and that feel had changed?
“He said something like that, too,” I almost whispered, remembering his words.
